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How is the annual supervisory fee calculated?

The ECB calculates the annual expenditure on its supervisory tasks to determine the total amount of the annual supervisory fees.

Total annual fees

How much does each bank pay?

The annual supervisory fee for each bank consists of:

  • a minimum fee component
  • a variable fee component

Minimum fee component

The minimum fee component is based on a fixed percentage of the total amount of the annual fees for significant and less significant banks.

Minimum fee component
Significant banks

The fixed percentage is 10% of the total amount of annual fees for significant banks and is split equally among the fee debtors in this category.

For smaller significant institutions with total assets of €10 billion or less at the highest level of consolidation, the minimum fee component is halved.

Less significant banks

The fixed percentage is 10% of the total amount of annual fees for less significant banks and is split equally among the fee debtors in this category.

For smaller less significant institutions with total assets of €1 billion or less at the highest level of consolidation, the minimum fee component is halved.

What determines the variable fee component?

Variable fee component

The variable fee component covers the remaining amount of the fee after the deduction of the minimum fee component. This difference also includes the discount granted to smaller banks in each category.

Each bank pays a share of this amount based on its importance and risk profile. This means that larger and riskier banks pay a higher variable fee component.

Estimate your fee

The information below is provided for indicative purposes only and can only help you to estimate your fee. The ECB calculates your fee on the basis of the fee factors you provide, and the exact amount levied by the ECB is stated in your annual supervisory fee notice.

The fee estimate cannot be exact because it is based on the expected costs for the fee period, whereas the ECB levies the fee on actual costs. In addition, because the average number of banks on which the fee will be levied and their fee factors will not be known until the fee is levied, the fee debtors and fee factors for the previous year are used.

Furthermore, retroactive corrections are made to fees when a bank’s situation changes after the cut-off date for the annual calculation of the supervisory fees, or when such changes are not validated by the national competent authority until after the cut-off date.

To estimate your annual supervisory fee for 2022, you need the following information.

Minimum fee component

To estimate this, you need:

  • total estimated annual costs for your category (significant or less significant banks)
    Estimated annual costs for fee period 2022 (EUR millions) Significant banks Less significant banks
      596.9 27.2
  • number of fee debtors:
    Average number of fee debtors
    for fee period 2021
    Significant banks Less significant banks
    Fee debtors 114 2,215
    Note: The number of fee debtors is different to the number of supervised banks.
  • average number of fee debtors in previous years:
    Average number of fee debtors Significant banks Less significant banks
    for fee period 2020 112 2,318
    as at end-July 2019 112 2,440
    as at end-July 2018 115 2,766
    as at end-July 2017 119 2,916
    as at end-July 2016 126 3,077
    as at end-July 2015 117 3,193
    as at end-July 2014 115 3,191
    Note: The number of fee debtors is different to the number of supervised banks.

Variable fee component

To estimate this, you need:

  • your own fee factors (total assets and total risk exposure)
  • the total fee factors: the sum of the total assets and total risk exposure in your category of supervised banks (significant or less significant). These are shown in the table below. Assets of subsidiaries located in non-participating Member States and third countries are excluded from the table. As a rule, banks should exclude such assets for the purposes of calculating their fee factors. However, banking groups may decide to include them (e.g. if they consider that the burden of calculating the amounts to be excluded would be greater than the expected reduction in the supervisory fee)
    Aggregate average fee factor values (EUR billions);
    for fee period 2021
    Significant banks Less significant banks
    Total assets 22,232 4,751
    Total risk exposure 6,930 2,248
    Fee factor values of previous years
    Aggregate average fee factor values (EUR billions); for fee period 2020 Significant banks Less significant banks
    Total assets 20,218 4,515
    Total risk exposure 6,846 2,226
    Aggregate average fee factor values (EUR billions);
    reference date 31 December 2018
    Significant banks Less significant banks
    Total assets 19,573 4,415
    Total risk exposure 6,610 2,133
    Aggregate average fee factor values (EUR billions);
    reference date 31 December 2017
    Significant banks Less significant banks
    Total assets 19,197 4,675
    Total risk exposure 6,382 2,180
    Aggregate average fee factor values (EUR billions);
    reference date 31 December 2016
    Significant banks Less significant banks
    Total assets 19,781 4,625
    Total risk exposure 6,577 2,141
    Aggregate average fee factor values (EUR billions);
    reference date 31 December 2015
    Significant banks Less significant banks
    Total assets 20,233 4,469
    Total risk exposure 6,773 2,137
    Aggregate average fee factor values (EUR billions);
    reference date 31 December 2014
    Significant banks Less significant banks
    Total assets 20,527 4,669
    Total risk exposure 6,811 2,219
  • for significant banks and significant banking groups, the number of fee debtors for which the minimum fee component would be halved, i.e. those with total assets of €10 billion or less: 13
  • for less significant banks and less significant banking groups, the number of fee debtors for which the minimum fee component would be halved, i.e. those with total assets of €1 billion or less: 1,296

Estimate your fee – examples for 2022 fee period

Equipped with the above data, you can now estimate your fee using the equations in the examples below.

Example for less significant banks with total assets above €1 billion

Your data

  • your bank’s total assets: [for example purposes: €1,600,000,000]
  • your bank’s total risk exposure: [for example purposes: €700,000,000]

Our data

  • total annual fees for less significant banks: €27,200,000
  • sum of total assets of less significant banks: €4,751,000,000,000
  • sum of total risk exposure of less significant banks: €2,248,000,000,000
  • average number of less significant fee debtors: 2,215
  • number of fee debtors for which the minimum fee component would be halved: 1,296

Minimum fee component = (10% * €27,200,000)/2,215 = €1,227.99

Before calculating the variable fee component, we need to take account of those banks for which the minimum fee component would be halved as follows: €27,200,000 - (2,215 - 1,296) * €1,227.99 - 1,296 * €1,227.99/2 = €25,275,738.15

Variable fee component = (50% * €1,600,000,000/€4,751,000,000,000 + 50% * €700,000,000/€2,248,000,000,000) * €25,275,738.15 = €8,191.35

Annual supervisory fee = €1,227.99 + €8,191.35 = €9,419.34

Example for less significant banks with total assets of €1 billion or less

Your data

  • your bank’s total assets: [for example purposes: €600,000,000]
  • your bank’s total risk exposure: [for example purposes: €250,000,000]

Our data

  • total annual fees for less significant banks: €27,200,000
  • sum of total assets of less significant banks: €4,751,000,000,000
  • sum of total risk exposure of less significant banks: €2,248,000,000,000
  • average number of less significant fee debtors: 2,215
  • number of fee debtors for which the minimum fee component would be halved: 1,296

Minimum fee component = (10% * €27,200,000)/2,215 * 0.5 = €614.00

Before calculating the variable fee component, we need to take account of those banks for which the minimum fee component would be halved, as follows: €27,200,000 – (2,215 - 1,296) * €1,227.99 - 1,296 * €1,227.99/2 = €25,275,738.15

Variable fee component = (50% * €600,000,000/€4,751,000,000,000 + 50% * €250,000,000/€2,248,000,000,000) * €25,275,738.15 = €3,001.48

Annual supervisory fee = €614.00 + €3,001.48 = €3,615.48

Example for significant banks

Your data

  • your bank’s total assets: [for example purposes: €166,000,000,000]
  • your bank’s total risk exposure: [for example purposes: €55,000,000,000]

Our data

  • total annual fees for significant banks: €596,900,000
  • sum of total assets of significant banks: €22,232,000,000,000
  • sum of total risk exposure of significant banks: €6,930,000,000,000
  • average number of significant fee debtors: 114
  • number of fee debtors for which the minimum fee component would be halved: 13

Minimum fee component = (10% * €596,900,000)/114 = €523,596.49

Before calculating the variable fee component, we need to take account of those banks for which the minimum fee component was halved, as follows: €596,900,000 – (114 - 13) * €523,596.49 - 13 * €523,596.49/2 = €540,613,377.19

Variable fee component = (50% * €166,000,000,000/€22,232,000,000,000 + 50% * €55,000,000,000/€6,930,000,000,000) * €540,613,377.19 = €4,163,594.09

Annual supervisory fee = €523,596.49 + €4,163,594.09 = €4,687,190.58

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